


baby blue eyes (stay with me by my side)

by bellawritess



Series: lashton prompts [13]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Coming Out, Established Relationship, Fluff, High School, M/M, one sex joke, sorry lol, supportive boyfriend Ashton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:29:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27708370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellawritess/pseuds/bellawritess
Summary: “I’m ready,” Luke insists, although the tension in his jaw and shoulders might say otherwise. Stiffly he turns to look at Ashton. “I have to tell them,” he says, with a pleading look like maybe Ashton will justget it.“I have to tell them and I don’t want to lie to them about it, or about us, or any of it.”
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin
Series: lashton prompts [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026498
Kudos: 4





	baby blue eyes (stay with me by my side)

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt:** "i'm so proud of you" + "i'm right here"
> 
> [tumblr link!](https://clumsyclifford.tumblr.com/post/627617787115962368/11-and-15-from-fluff-prompt-list-with-lashton)
> 
> title from baby blue eyes by a rocket to the moon

Luke is fine until they pull up to the curb outside his house. But when Ashton says, “You ready?” he freezes.

“Luke?” Ashton prompts. Luke stares resolutely ahead, knuckles white as they clasp his knees. Gently, Ashton pries Luke’s left hand off his leg and laces their fingers together. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“No, I do,” Luke says tersely. Despite his determination, he doesn’t move.

“You don’t,” Ashton tells him, and means it. “If you’re not ready —”

“I’m ready,” Luke insists, although the tension in his jaw and shoulders might say otherwise. Stiffly he turns to look at Ashton. “I have to tell them,” he says, with a pleading look like maybe Ashton will just _get it_. “I have to tell them and I don’t want to lie to them about it, or about us, or any of it.”

“Okay,” Ashton says. “I know you know this, but they love you. They won’t love you less because you love me.”

“I know,” Luke mutters, eyes darting nervously around Ashton’s face, searching for an answer, maybe, or some extra courage. Ashton wishes it worked that way; he’d drain himself of all bravery just to give Luke that push to tell his parents the truth, but all he can do now is offer support and be here when Luke needs him.

“I’m right here,” Ashton adds. “I’ll be here the whole time. We’re leaving right after. You don’t have to stay.”

“It’s fine,” Luke says, like he hasn’t heard anything Ashton’s just said. “It’s fine. It’s fine, Ashton. It’s fine! You did it. I can do it. I’m not scared.”

Ashton wants to tell him that it’s _okay_ to be scared, that he can know with total certainty that he won’t be rejected and still feel scared — that it’s _scary_ to come out, by virtue of being — but it doesn’t really seem like that’s what Luke needs right now. So Ashton just squeezes his hand.

“First take a deep breath,” he says, and Luke does. “Okay?”

Luke exhales a long time, and the set of his shoulders loosens just a smidge. “Okay,” he says in a small voice. “I’m not scared.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. You got this. I’ll be right outside.”

Luke nods, moves to open the door, aborts to gesture, leans instead across the dash to pull Ashton into a brief but fierce kiss, and then decisively pushes out the door. Ashton licks his lips. Some things never get old.

The twelve minutes that follow are among the most nerve-wracking of Ashton’s life. He knows that Liz and Andrew Hemmings are going to love Luke no matter what, and while Jack and Ben will almost certainly make fun of him, that’s par for the course. The Hemmings love their youngest, and Ashton knows that something as trivial as loving a boy won’t change that. Still, though, in the indescribable way that coming out is always scary even when it’s not, Ashton’s nerves are all on high alert. He doesn’t even dare turn the car off, just on the off-chance Luke comes racing out, begging to make a quick escape.

It doesn’t happen that way. What _does_ happen is Luke ambling down his front steps, followed closely by Jack, who, as they get closer to the car, Ashton can hear making playful jabs, most of them obscene. Luke’s head is down, and there’s a furious blush coloring his cheeks. He looks like he’d rather be anywhere else in the entire world, but when he meets Ashton’s eyes through the passenger seat window his lips quirk up in a smile.

“Take care of the kid,” Jack warns Ashton as Luke slides into the car. “Ben and I are gonna work together to give you the most threatening shovel talk of all time, so get ready for that.”

Ashton grins; he’s always liked Luke’s brothers. “Will do.” Then, to Luke: “Ready?”

Luke nods and glares out the window at Jack, who holds his hands up in surrender and starts retreating towards the house again. Ashton pushes the car into first gear, and with a small jerk they drive away.

“So,” Ashton says calmly. “It went okay?”

Luke slumps forward, and his forehead hits the glove compartment. “I was so nervous for nothing. I cried. I actually cried. It was so embarrassing, mum was like _oh, we always knew_ — how did she know? And you don’t even want to know what Jack was like. If you thought that was bad —” He cuts himself off, shaking his head.

Ashton reaches across and rubs a hand comfortingly over Luke’s back. “I’m so proud of you,” he says lightly. “I know you were scared, and you did it anyway. That’s brave.”

“Don’t start,” Luke moans. “It was so stupid. I can’t believe — God. Dad’s _face_ , Ash. He looked so fucking smug. I almost wanted to be like, _psych!_ I bet he’s just glad I won’t be getting any girls pregnant.”

“I bet he just loves you,” Ashton counters, with a small smile. Luke seems relaxed enough to joke about it, a polar opposite of the Luke that had exited Ashton’s car only fifteen minutes prior.

“I bet Jack and Ben buy me lube or something gross like that for my birthday,” Luke grumbles, and Ashton laughs. “I’ll bet you anything in the _world_.”

“I’m not taking a bet I know I’ll lose.”

“Thanks for coming with me,” Luke says suddenly. Ashton glances over at Luke as he slows to a stop at a red light. Luke gives him a smile, one that’s almost embarrassed in its sincerity. “It helped, knowing you were just outside.”

“Of course,” Ashton says. “I’ve got you. Always.” He winks, so that Luke won’t feel the heaviness of the words just yet, because they’re kind of a big commitment for kids their age. Nobody who’s still in secondary school should be agreeing to any _always_ es, but Ashton can’t really think of another way he’d like to be.

He reaches for Luke’s hand, even though he’ll have to let go in a moment when the light changes. Luke squeezes first, this time, and Ashton squeezes back, and for the moment, they’re both content to just hold on to each other.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading <3 i'm on tumblr [@clumsyclifford](http://clumsyclifford.tumblr.com/) so come say hey!


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